Is It Safe To Touch Cannabis Seeds With Your Bare Hands?

When a seed fails to germinate, people usually assume it is bad luck or poor genetics, but their could be another reason - us.

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4 Dec 2015

The initial thought, when asked whether it is ok to touch cannabis seeds with bare hands, is of course! Why wouldn’t it be? Well, it depends on who you ask, but you could be causing irreversible damage, especially if you decide to store the seeds long term.

THE STORY OF LOST POTENTIAL

It is not unusual for people who buy their weed off the street to find the occasional seed lodged within their bud. More often than not, it is an annoyance, but if a seed is found in a particularly awesome batch of weed, it can be treated like a diamond, reverently handled and stored away for later growing. However, when it comes to germinating the seed, it falls flat on its face, completely failing to sprout.

While many usually chalked it up to bad luck or genetics, it turns out there could be another cause, one that many rookie growers fall for – touching the seeds with their bare fingers. This is a problem because our fingers are covered in essential oils, and while we may not feel them, they do rub off on seeds. If left for a long time, they can undermine the integrity of a seed, and even cause it to fail completely when it comes to germination.

WHY TAKE THE RISK?

A lot of growers and breeders dispute this as a myth, stating they grow cannabis seeds they have touched without a problem. Whereas if you talk to biologists and botanists, they will tell you that in their expert opinion, oils do have an effect on seeds, especially in the long term.

So who is right? Cannabis breeders are clearly able to grow seeds after touching them, so it is not a definite thing, but at the same time, there is scientific backing to suggest it is a dangerous practice. If you ask us, why take the risk? You will probably get away with it if you are putting a fresh seed directly into soil, but if you plan to store it, what is the harm in wearing a pair of disposable gloves, or using tweezers? Touching cannabis seeds with your bare hands is not an instant death sentence, but if there is even the slightest chance that it could cause a seed to fail – and there certainly are dangers – then the extra precaution is worth the effort if.